Cosmetic holders



-Dec. 13, 1960 c. L. OTTO ET AL COSMETIC HOLDERS Filed July 26, 1955 ATTORNEY COSMETIC HOLDERS Carl Louis Otto, La Nelle Burnham Otto, and Joan Briton, New York, N.Y., assignors to Caronelle, Inc., New York, N.Y., a cor'poration of New York Filed July 26, 1955, Ser. No. 524,472

Claims. (Cl. 132-85) The present invention relates to cosmetics and has particular reference to compacts or holders and applicators for solid cosmetics, particularly lipstick.

Since the invention is particularly applicable for lipsticks, it will be described in connection therewith, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited in its scope to lipstick material but may be equally well utilized for eyebrow pencils, mascara and other solid cosmetic materials.

In the application of lipstick, the contour or outline of the applied material is important, and while in the usual form of lipstick the material is applied by use of solid lipstick in the manner of a pencil, it is at times difficult to obtain the exact outline desired by this mode of application, and also it is frequently desirable to touchup a previously made application, the outlines of which may have become blurred.

For this purpose the use of a brush is frequently much more convenient and effective than an attempt to directly use a solid lipstick of pencil-like form.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved form of cosmetic compact or applicator which, while occupying little, if any more, space than the conventional form of applicators for hp stick and the like, alfords facilities for applying lipstick and the like both by direct action of a pencil of the material to be applied and application through the medium of a brush.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an article of the character under consideration for which a replacement or refill unit of the material to be applied may readily be furnished at moderate cost, such arrangement being of material importance in those numerous in stances Where the casing of the original applicator is made of relatively expensive materials, such as precious or semi-precious metals that may or may not additionally be jewelled.

With the foregoing in mind and for purposes of illustration and description utilizing a lipstick compact by way of example, the invention will be described in the ensuing portion of this specification taken in conjunction with the drawings forming a part hereof in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a lipstick compact embodying the principles of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the components of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central cross-section of the article shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse cross-section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the compact comprises a central direct applicator component indicated generally at 10, comprising an outer shell 12 of circular section which in the embodiment illustrated is advantageously spun, drawn or otherwise appropriately formed from relatively thin sheet metal, by known manufacturing methods forming no part of the present invention.

2,964,045 Patented Dec. 13, 1960 ice In the example shown, this shell comprises a conically tapered portion 12a, an intermediate cylindrical portion of larger diameter 12b, a further cylindrical portion of still larger diameter, between which and the portion 12b there is located a shoulder 12d, a cylindrical portion 12e, on the side of the portion 12c remote from the portion 1212, there being a shoulder 12f between portions 12c and 12c, and an in-turned flange portion or lip 12g at the end of the portion 12a remote fromthe shoulder 12 Within this shell or casing 12 there is fixed a body in the form of a cake or the like, indicated generally at 14, of the desired cosmetic, in the present instance assumed to be lipstick, which may be of any one of the usual commercially available formulas and the majority of which are characterized by a wax-like carrier ton the desired pigment.

Characteristic of one of the important features of the invention is the form of this cake, which, it will be observed from Fig. 3, comprises an elongated cylindric-ally tapered nose portion 14a extending beyond one end of the shell or casing 12 and a hollow portion of annular cross-section 14b housed within the shell 12 and providing a longitudinally extending recess 16 open at the end of the component opposite the end formed by the nose portion 14a of the cake.

In the example illustrated, the cake is shown as including a collar portion extending outwardly and filling the recess formed within the portion 12c of maximum diameter of the casing 12. In this specific form of construction, the component is readily formed by known pressure casting methods in a separable mold structure in which the shell 12 would be placed as a liner prior to the casting operation. Shell 12 is preferably spun over at one end, as at 12g, as a precaution against exposure of sharp metal edges. This, of course, may be omitted, if desired, when a collar portion of the cake such as shown at 140 is provided to insure fixing ot the cake of material against axial displacement out of the encasing shell. In those cases Where an end flange such as shown at 12g is formed, the collar portion 140 of the cake may be omitted and a pro-formed cake slipped into the shell and held in place by a subsequent spinning operation for forming the flange portion 12g. In some instances, depending upon the physical characteristics of the cake of cosmetic material, adhesive contact alone between the cake and shell 12 may be sutficient, Without the additional aid of positive mechanical means such as the end flange or lip 12g or a collar portion of the cake such as shown For masking the nose portion 14a of the cosmetic cake, a cap 18 is provided, which cap in the example shown is of thin sheet metal and which is retained in place by frictional contact of a cylindrical portion 18c, dimensioned to frictionally engage the cylindrical portion 12b of the shell 12. Advantageously, the cap 18 is tapered as shown.

A brush component indicated generally at 20, comprises a cap 26a, which in the embodiment shown is comprised of thin sheet metal and has a cylindrical portion 20b dimensioned to frictionally engage a cylindrical portion 122 of the shell 12 of the applicator component. The cap 20a may advantageously the of tapered form as shown, and advantageously the cylindrical portions 12b and 12a of the applicator component may be of like diameter so that if desired, the cap 18 may be for convenience assem led over the end portion 12e of the shell 12, after removal from the latter of the brush component 20, thus making it possible to have only two elements or assemblies, while at the same time having simultaneously both the brush and the lipstick pencil available for use.

The brush component, in the embodiment illustrated,

as sable or the like may be used.

includes amounting member 200 for holding the stem 22 of a brush 24 which may be formed of any appropriate material suitable for use with the particular form of cosmetic cake.

By way of example, for use with the usual forms of lipstick cake, a brush comprised of natural fur fiber such In other instances, with harder materials, brushes comprised of radial bristles, either of natural or synthetic materials, may be more suitable.

When, as in the example illustrated, the article is symmetrical, one of the caps, for example, as shown the cap 20a of the brush component, may be coined or otherwise given some kind of identifying indici a, such, for example, as the longitudinally extending lines 20d indicated in the drawings.

The manner of use of the article will be largely selfevident. For the direct application of lipstick in the usual manner the cap 18 may be removed, and the lipstick applied directly, with or without the brush component in place.

If application by way of the brush is desired, the

brush component is disassembled by withdrawing it to the extent such that shell and cap portions 12e and 20b are out of contact, thus enabling the brush 24 to be rubbed against the inner wall of the annular portion of the tapered compact and to be loaded with the material for subsequent application. In the event both the lipstick pencil and the brush are desired to be available simultaneously, the cap 18, as previously noted, can be assembled over the portion 122 of the shell of the applicator component, so that the user will. have only two, rather than three, separate articles to deal with in spite of the fact that both the brush and the direct applicator are simultaneously available.

While for purposes of illustration of the principles of the invention the article has been illustrated and described as being formed with a metallic shell for the central component and metallic caps for the others, it will be evident from the nature of the article that other materials, such as plastics and the like, may equally well be employed.

It is also to be noted that the construction lends itself particularly well to the replacement of the applicator component by so-called refills. As will be evident from inspection of Fig. 1, the major portion of the exposed surface of the article in its assembled form is provided by the cap 18 and the shell of the brush component 20. There is a substantial market for articles of the kind under consideration of relatively expensive nature and by way of example, the cap component 18 and the brush component 20 might be made of precious metals or even jewelled. These components are of substantially permanent nature, whereas the central applicator component 4 requires relatively frequent replacement. In the case of such relatively expensive articles, the applicator component, which must be renewed, can readily be made of quite inexpensive materials,- while the other and more permanent components may be made as elaborate and expensive as desired.

From the foregoing it will be evident that the invention may be embodied in various different specific constructions and is accordingly to be understood as embracing all structures falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. An article of the character described comprising a central applicator component providing an elongated body of solid cosmetic material having a solid exposed nose portion at one end for direct application of the cosmetic and a socket portion at the opposite end of the component facing away from said nose portion, a first end component comprising a cap formed to releasably engage said central component at said one end to provide a cover for the nose portion of said cosmetic material, and a second end component formed to releasably engage said opposite end of said central component, said second component comprising a brush located to be inserted and housed Within the socket portion of said body when said central applicator component and said brush component are engaged.

2. An article as defined in claim 1, in which said applicator component comprises a shell encircling and externally engaging said body of cosmetic material to support the same, the nose portion of said body extending beyond the shell at one end of the latter and said shell providing bearing surfaces at its opposite ends for engagement with said cap component and said brush component, respectively.

3. An article as defined in claim 2, in which said bearing surfaces are formed for frictional sliding engagement with said cap and said brush components.

4. An article as defined in claim 3, in which said shell provides a stop located between said bearing surfaces.

5. An article as defined in claim 4, in which said bearing surfaces are of like dimensions to permit interchangeability of engagement with either of said cap and said brush components.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,534,827 Aste Apr. 21, 1925 2,027,236 Lawry Jan. 7, 1936 2,129,051 Easterly Sept. 6, 1938 2,219,000 Williams Oct. 22, 1940 2,618,279 Reiffert Nov. 18, 1952 ileum 

